It comes more than three years after the Croatian was invited to attend a Bayern training camp in Doha by then-coach Guardiola, who spent three successful seasons in charge of the German giants.

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Kovac said the experience left him with a lasting appreciation of the three-time Bundesliga winner.

"For me personally, Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the world. And it was a pleasure, an honour really, to sit in on his training sessions and the trip to Qatar," Kovac told reporters.

"At that time I was trying to learn what he was doing, if there were parallels to myself and how I could get better. That's the reason I wanted to be a part of that training camp."It was nice as he had a conversation with my brother and me, where we learned a lot. We had a great time. And I don't get arrogant [and think] that I will be more successful than him.

"First we have to try and be successful and after that I have to accomplish quite a lot to even be considered near Pep Guardiola."

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Beaten 2-0 by Juventus during the week, Bayern are likely to again be without Jerome Boateng for the City encounter as the defender battles a stomach problem.

The in-demand Germany international is reportedly in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over a move to Ligue 1.